The present invention relates to a golf club grip and a golf club using the same.
In order to increase head speed during swing, the recent golf clubs are reduced in weight by forming lightweight shafts and heads. In particular, the shafts are reduced in weight by using carbon fiber reinforced resin or the like.
Unfortunately, as the clubs are reduced more in weight, it is more likely that players experience uncomfortable vibrations or impact shock upon club-on-ball impact. If the shaft weight is reduced, in particular, shaft vibrations at club-on-ball impact are increased in frequency. The increased frequency deviates from the vibration frequency of the conventional shaft and hence, the uncomfortable vibrations or impact shock for the player tend to increase.
Heretofore, a variety of proposals have been made to suppress the vibrations produced at impact with ball.
For example, there is proposed a golf club which is designed to suppress the shaft vibrations by way of a metal weight supported on an inside surface of a shaft end portion via a viscoelastic material, a grip being attached to the shaft end portion (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 339551/1994). In another proposed golf club, a viscoelastic material having a loss tangent (tan δ) of 0.7 or more and formed into a bar shape is inserted in the shaft in contacting relation with the inside surface of the shaft end portion (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 70944/2003).
In the golf club disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 339551/1994, however, the metal weight and the like are so heavy that the whole body of the golf club has a substantial weight. This is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of weight reduction. On the other hand, the golf club disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 70944/2003 may fail to exhibit an adequate effect to suppress some particular vibration (vibration in a particular direction or having a particular frequency) depending upon the position or area of a contact portion between the aforesaid viscoelastic bar inserted in the inside surface of the shaft and the inside surface of the shaft. In some cases, therefore, this golf club may also fail to provide a consistent vibration suppression effect.
Vibration absorption performance required of the club varies according to personal performance (head speed, swing type and such) of users (golfers) or according to the club specifications. Hence, it is desirable to obtain the vibration absorption performance adapted to each golfer or each club.